


Another Time, Another Death

by mindinmarianatrench



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angel Castiel, Castiel in his old garrison, Castiel protecting humanity, Gen, long before Dean Wincester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-01
Updated: 2017-02-01
Packaged: 2018-09-21 08:16:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9539393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mindinmarianatrench/pseuds/mindinmarianatrench
Summary: Castiel had been protecting humans long before he saved Dean Winchester from Hell and this is one of the battles he had fought for the humans.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Castiel Color Challenge January 2017 run by @castielcolorchallenge
> 
> Prompt: Peach-yellow

He could only watch the starry sky as the battle continues without him. The clashes of blades, the thunder of angels smiting demons, the death cries from both parties as they fall in the battlefield told him to fight with his brothers and sisters but his body would not move. All of his wings were either broken or torn; some he could not feel at all. His faces felt like it had been pounded by rocks and his bones, he was not sure if there was any that was not broken. As he told his vessel, though angels can easily outlive a human, they can die. And this time, on this field, this battle might be his last.

 

When the orders came from the higher ups, Castiel had questioned it; their garrison was made up of mostly new soldiers, and to ask them to go against the Knights of Hell and their demon army was to send them to the slaughterhouse. Captain Anael agreed with him but there was no choice, the Archangels refused to help in this matter and if the angels did not help the humans in this battle, the clueless humans preparing to war with the Knights would be wiped out within seconds. And so, they do right to their duty and fought to protect their Father’s creation.

It took only a few days for all the angels to find suitable vessels among the human soldiers. Even though the humans of the time did not believe in his Father, the chance to win against such powerful enemy like Chiyou persuaded many of them to consent being a vessel. Castiel however, had to find his vessel at an unlikely place, a monk who was passing by as he was on his way for a pilgrimage. Though the monk was against physical violence, he agreed to help since he too knew what Chiyou and his army was.

The battle began at dawn with the ten angelic Captains at the front and each of their garrisons at their command. It might be a huge army for humans of that time but the opponent had bigger army, 26,000 demons to the 11,000 angels. Worst, leading the demons were nine of the Knights of Hell. Few hundred years ago, a Knight of Hell managed to slaughter an entire garrison of specialized angelic soldiers. So really, the odds were very much stacked against them. Castiel really hoped that by some miracle the Archangels would help them, they really needed it.

At first, it was almost a fair fight. Both sides used the human ways instead of relying on their supernatural powers. Blades clashed, arrows flew everywhere and heads rolled. Then the fog rolled in from nearby river, blanketing the battlefield. And angels began to be expelled from their vessels. Only the Captains and few other angels were unaffected by the fog. Though the humans were not harmed in the ejection process, coming to consciousness in the middle of an ongoing war were disorienting and the demons took the chance to attack the humans.

In an effort to reduce human casualties, the Captains decided to attack the enemy both on human realm and in the Veil. Some human soldiers scampered away, screaming, for to them lightning seemed to come out of nowhere and struck the plains endlessly and randomly as black smokes materializing here and there. In actuality, the angels were smiting the demons in the Veil. Still, some decided to fight, seeing their leaders fought unflinchingly through the supernatural fiesta, not realizing that the leaders were possessed by angels.

Trusting their charges to kill the lesser demons, the Captains and their lieutenants had focused on killing the Knights. Since he was not ejected from his vessel, Castiel continued his fights on the human realm alongside his Captain, and with supports from Uriel and Hester from the Veil, managing to kill one of the Knights. One by one, the Knights fell from their attack and luck seemed to be with the good side for once.

Castiel had almost missed it, the glowing runes under the skin of one of the remaining Knights, mostly hidden by his meatsuit’s animal skin clothes. But when he saw it he realized the Knight’s intentions. He immediately ordered nearby angels to run and flung Captain Anael and Joriel away from the Knight with all his power. Knowing the inevitability, he begged forgiveness from his vessel as the Knight exploded in a blinding explosion blasting Castiel and his vessel.

Even when the victory horn was sounded hours later, Castiel was still unable to move. He kept thinking of his now dying vessel, Tao. The monk was never supposed to get hurt. He was supposed to be able to finish his pilgrimage, to eat that specially grown fruit at the temple he was going to. Tao said he was named after the fruit and told Castiel of the legend surrounding his namesake, the fruit of immortality that took 3000 years to grow and ripen and would grant their eater the same time span on immortality. As the night had given way to a new dawn on the battlefield and the sky had turned into a pinkish yellow, Castiel thought that it was the perfect hue of the Tao fruit.

Balthazar, one of his closest brothers was the one who found him first. Castiel had closed his eyes against the sun’s glare and Balthazar had thought that he had died. The other angel had even wept, mourning his loses, one of which was a bet that Castiel would be promoted into Captaincy after the battle and kept on whining until Kael, a Rit Zien from Castiel’s garrison found them and began to quietly heal Castiel. When Balthazar finally noticed her, and that Castiel was smirking at him definitely still alive, Balthazar stood up and immediately ran away mumbling about collecting divine weapons before it fell into human hands all the way.

More than 4000 angels had fallen on that barren plain that day but the angels had managed to keep the human fatality to a minimum on their side. The same cannot be said to the demons’ meatsuits, for most had been tortured and abused until the brink of death long before the battle and after the demons removals, few had survived. To the humans, the war was proof that their commander was God’s chosen one and made him an emperor. And they had chosen wisely. He continued to rule for a long time, bringing peace to the land.

The monk Tao did not survive the battle and Castiel knew that it was another death he was responsible for. So, in the monk’s stead, Castiel travelled to the temple the monk was going to and ate one of the Tao fruit. He saved the pit and buried it on Tao’s grave. With some help from Castiel’s grace, a Tao tree now stood tall on the grave. Maybe his gestures meant nothing but he wanted to do something for his former vessel.

 

Bonus:

Also, it turns out that Balthazar won the bet. Due to Castiel’s selfless act in saving other angels against the Knight’s suicide attack and the fact most of the new recruits that managed to survive the battle was his students, he was awarded Captaincy and was allowed to choose soldiers to form his own garrison. Uriel, Hester and Inias were few of the one he had chosen for his garrison. Balthazar was invited but the angel refused, preferring to stay with his old garrison now that the Rit Zien Kael was assigned to the group.

**Author's Note:**

> This was loosely based on Chinese history and mythology. And Tao means peach in Chinese (if I’m not mistaken). Captain Anael is Anna Milton. And Kale is good for your health.


End file.
